Hampstead (/ˈhæmpstɪd/ or /-stɛd/), commonly known as Hampstead Village, is an area of London, England, 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. It has some of the most expensive housing in the London area. The village of Hampstead has more millionaires within its boundaries than any other area of the United Kingdom.[1]

The growth of Hampstead is generally traced back to the 17th century. Trustees of the Well started advertising the medicinal qualities of the chalybeate waters (water impregnated with iron) in 1700. Although Hampstead Wells was initially most successful and fashionable, its popularity declined in the 1800s due to competition with other fashionable London spas. The spa was demolished in 1882, although a water fountain was left behind.

The area has a significant tradition of educated liberal humanism, often referred to (often disparagingly) as "Hampstead Liberalism". In the 1960s, the figure of the Hampstead Liberal was notoriously satirised by Peter Simple of the Daily Telegraph in the character of Lady Dutt-Pauker, an immensely wealthy aristocratic socialist whose Hampstead mansion, Marxmount House, contained an original pair of Bukharin's false teeth on display alongside precious Ming vases, neo-constructivist art, and the complete writings of Stalin.[3] Michael Idov of The New Yorker stated that the community "was the citadel of the moneyed liberal intelligentsia, posh but not stuffy."[4] As applied to an individual, the term "Hampstead Liberal" is not synonymous with "champagne socialist" but carries some of the same connotations. The term is also rather misleading. As of 2016, all the component wards of Hampstead (Swiss Cottage, Frognal and Fitzjohns, Hampstead Town and Belsize) elect a full slate of Conservative councillors. Whilst Swiss Cottage is a competitive-marginal ward between the Conservatives and Labour and whilst Belsize is a competitive-marginal ward between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, the area of Hampstead Village itself (Hampstead Town), as well as Frognal and Fitzjohns are safe Conservative wards.

To the north and east of Hampstead, and separating it from Highgate, is London's largest ancient parkland, Hampstead Heath, which includes the well-known and legally-protected view of the London skyline from Parliament Hill. The Heath, a major place for Londoners to walk and "take the air", has three open-air public swimming ponds; one for men, one for women, and one for mixed bathing, which were originally reservoirs for drinking water and the sources of the River Fleet. The bridge pictured is known locally as 'The Red Arches' or 'The Viaduct', built in fruitless anticipation of residential building on the Heath in the 19th century.

Local activities include major open-air concerts on summer Saturday evenings on the slopes below Kenwood House, book and poetry readings, fun fairs on the lower reaches of the Heath, period harpsichord recitals at Fenton House, Hampstead Scientific Society and Hampstead Photographic Society.

The largest employer in Hampstead is the Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, but many small businesses based in the area have international significance. George Martin's AIR recording studios, in converted church premises in Lyndhurst Road, is a current example, as Jim Henson's Creature Shop was before it relocated to California.

Hampstead has an eclectic mix of restaurants ranging from French to Thai. Notable and longstanding are La Gaffe, Gaucho Grill, Jin Kichi, Tip Top Thai, Villa Bianca and, in May 2016, Patara. After over a decade of controversy and legal action from local residents, McDonald's was finally allowed to open in Hampstead in 1992, after winning its right in court, and agreeing to a previously unprecedented re-design of the shop front, reducing the conspicuousness of its facade and logo,[34] but closed in November 2013.[35]

Hampstead's rural feel lends itself for use on film; a notable example being The Killing of Sister George (1968) starring Beryl Reid and Susannah York. The opening sequence has Reid's character June wandering through the streets and alleyways of Hampstead, west of Heath Street, around The Mount Square. The Marquis of Granby pub, in which June drinks at the opening of the film, was actually The Holly Bush,[23] at 22 Holly Mount. Another example is The Collector (1965), starring Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar, where the kidnap sequence is set in Mount Vernon.

Some scenes from An American Werewolf in London (1981) are shot on Hampstead Heath, Well Walk and Haverstock Hill. Harry and Judith are killed in Hampstead Heath, behind The Pryors on East Heath Road. Before David kills them, Harry and Judith get out of the taxi on East Heath Road at Well Walk.

A musical specifically focusing on the area, Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (1968), tells the story of a young man's cycle journey around Hampstead. After crashing into a billboard poster, he falls in love with the fashion model depicted on it.

The 2011 census showed that the population of Hampstead Town ward was 80% white (54% British, 24% Other, 2% Irish). The largest non-white group, Other Asian, claimed 4%. 35% was Christian, 27% irreligious and 10% Jewish.[36] The whole town had a population of 60,918 in 2011 and includes the wards of Frognal, Hampstead Town, Belsize, West Hampstead and Swiss Cottage.[37]

Hampstead has a major bus terminus known as Hampstead Heath located in South End Green. Its most frequent service is Route 24 which for over 100 years has linked this area with the West End, Victoria and Grosvenor Road in Pimlico. Bus routes that currently serve Hampstead are: 2446168210268603C11 and N5.

Hampstead has long been known as a residence of the intelligentsia, including writers, composers, ballerinas and intellectuals, actors, artists and architects – many of whom created a bohemian community in the late 19th century. After 1917, and again in the 1930s, it became base to a community of avant garde artists and writers and was host to a number of émigrés and exiles from the Russian Revolution and Nazi Europe.

Hampstead is referenced in a Monty Python sketch where a famous playwright (with a northern accent and working-class look) sarcastically remarks to his son (who works in a mine): "Hampstead wasn't good enough for you, eh? You had to go poncin' off to Barnsley".

Hampstead is the fictional location of Lucy Westenra's tomb in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. Lucy lured children to Hampstead Heath at night to drink their blood. During the course of their investigation, Drs. Van Helsing and Seward dined at Jack Straw's Castle and caught a cab near Spaniards Inn.

In Charles Dickens' comic novel The Pickwick Papers, Pickwick writes a scientific paper, "Speculations on the Source of Hampstead Ponds", referring to the ponds on Hampstead Heath.

Hampstead is mentioned in the title of the book Black Swine in the Sewers of Hampstead by Thomas Boyle. The book, published in 1990, examines the development in mid-Victorian Britain of sensationalism in the popular press and of sensation novels in literature, and the nature and causes of both.